Needle reverse plating of knitted fabrics



July 18, 1950 J. 1.. GETAZ NEEDLE REVERSE PLATING OF KNITTED FABRICS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 5, 1946 IN V EN TOR.

July 18, 1950 I J. L. GETAZ 2,515,505

NEEDLE REVERSE PLATING 0F KNITTED FABRICS Filed Jan. 5, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented July 18, 1950 NEEDLE REVERSE PLATING OF KNITTED FABRICS James L. Getaz, New York, N. Y.

Application January 5, 1946, Serial N 0. 639,357

This Invention is related to knitted fabrics and particularly to forming patterns in such fabrics by reverse plating.

. It is well known in the knitting art that two yarns may be knitted together on the same set of" needles in'plating relation. One of these yarns may be made to appear on the face of the fabric and is known as the face yarn, and the other yarn is on the reverse side of the fabric and i known as the backing yarn. The relative position of these two yarns in the stitches of the fabric is determined by their relative position in the hooks of the needles at the time when the loops of these stitches are drawn. In machines having one set of needles, the yarn which lies on the inside or next to the shank of the needle appears on the face of the stitch which is made by that needle, while the'outer yarnappears on the reverse side.

If yarns of two contrasting colors are used, patterns are formed by reversing the position of these yarns in the hooks of certain needles, with the result that thosestitc'hes which are made by the needles in which the position of the yarn is reversed have a contrasting color from the stitches which are made by those needles," in which the yarn was notreversed. I

In order to hold the face yarn next to the shank of the needle, it is customary'tofeed this face yarn with more tension than the backing yarn, and when it 'isdesired to reverse the posi tion of these yarns in the hooks of certain needles, mechanical means are provided 'for moving the face yarn to the outer position and the backing yarn'to the inner side next to the shank of the needles.

One of the most-effective means for reversing.

so thatthe face yarn is in the outer position in the hook of the bent; needle, and the. backingyarn ison the insiderand appears on the :face

ofthe fabric. g

In machines for knitting fabrics of fine gauge,

the :shanks of the needles are thin and narrow and. are quite flexible. 'Such needles may be bent repeatedly without injury, but in machines for.

knitting fabrics of coarser gauges, needles'of larger cross-section are required, which do not bend so readily. The result is that in machines for coarse gauge fabrics, the needles become heated: or break if bent too frequently; andforf 7 Claims. (CI. 66-36) I very coarse gauges it is not practical to bend the needles at all.

It is the purpose of this invention to provide means for controlling the reverse plating in a manner which i similar to that used in bending the needle but in which the needles remain rigid and the difliculties due to bending are avoided.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a vertical section through the knitting cylinder at the knitting point which shows the knitting needle and control mechanism for drawing a stitch with the face yarn plated on the face of the fabric.

Fig. 2 is similar to Fig. l, but showing the means for plating the backing yarn on the face of the fabric.

I Fig. 3 shows the position of the long butt knitting needles when raised during the knitting of the heel and toe.

1 Fig. 4 is a plan view of the knitting cylinder, showing the position of the knitting needles with reference to the throat plate, as they are controlled for reverse plating.

Fig. 5 is a view of the lower shanks of th needles below the bed-plate.

Fig. 6 is a section of 6-5 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 7 is a plan view of the selective mechanism shown in Fig. 2.

The cylinder wall I0 is grooved on its outer surface with grooves II and cylinder walls l2 between them. In these grooves H are the knitting needles l3 and below each needle in the same groove is a jack [4. The needles l3 consist of the usual portion, the hook l5, latch [6, an

5 upper shank l1 and butt l8. Below the butts IB, the needles have a lower shank l9, and at the lower end of this shank l9 are two prongs 20 and 2|. The needles l3 are held in placein grooves II by the spring band 22 and the jacks I4 are held'in place by the spring bands 23.

The jacks consist of an upper shank 24, having at its upper extremity a head 25 anda lower shank 26, which has on its outer surface of its lower portion a series of teeth 21, which are used in selecting the movement of these jacks [4. The upper shank 24 and the lower shank 26 of the jacks l4 do not form a straight line on the back side of the jack, but form an obtuse angle with the apex of the angle at point 28, and this point 28' forms a rocking point about which the jacks I4 turn in a vertical plane. about the point 28 when the teeth 21 are pressed inward by the levers 28, which are actuated by the selector drum 29 and the spring 30. When the'tee'th2'l arenot pressed inward by' levers 28,"

These jacks 14 turn the upper shanks 24 of the jacks M are held against the bottom of grooves II by the spring bands 23 as shown in Figures 1 and 3. The jacks M have no vertical motion as used for reverse plating, but they may be raised at some point in the knitting circle for selecting certain needles for another purpose, as for example, raising needles for wrap patterns. When jacks are raised for such a purpose, the head '25 presses against the fork 2| and raises the needle l3.

The upper shank ll and the lower shank I9 of the needles l3, do not form a straight line on the back side of the needles but form an obtuse angle, with the apex of the angle about opposite the butt I8, and the apex of the angle forms a rocking point 3|, about which the needle turns in a vertical plane as described below.

In the normal position of the needle l3 as it is carried around the knitting circle by the rotation of the cylinder and is raised to shed the stitch, the upper shank I! of the needle is in a vertical position and is held against, the bottom of the groove II by the spring bands 22, and the long butt needles are in this same vertical position when raised during the knitting of the heel and toe, as shown in Fig. 3. With the upper shank of the needle in this vertical position, the lower shank Hi from the point 3| downward does not rest against the bottom of groove l I, but extends outward from the bottom of the groove at an angle, as shown in Figures 2 and 3.

In the knitting wave, as the needles I3 are carried past the throat; plate 32 in approaching the knitting point 33, and after passing the knitting point, the lower shanks it of the needles are pressed inward by the cam 34, which causes the needles to rock about point 3|, and the hook l5 of the needles to move to an outward position, as shown in Figures 1 and 4. With the hook in this outward position, the face yarn 35 is fed under tension into the hooks i5 of the needles and lies on the inner portion of the hook, while the backing yarn 36 is in the outer portion of the hook. As the needles approach the knitting point 33, they are drawn downward by the action of the cam block 31 on butts I 8. As the needle moves downward and the lower shanks 19 are pressed inward, the forks 2D and 2! at the lower extremity of the needles are placed on either side of the head 25 of the jacks M.

In vertical alin'ement with the knitting point, as shown in Figure 6, there is a gap 38 in cam 34, and this gap has a beveled edge 39 on the right hand side.

The operation of this mechanism is as follows:

The selector drum 29 operates the levers 28 and selects those jacks M which areto be pressed in at their lower portion as they pass the knitting point, and if they are pressed in they take the position at the knitting point as shown in Fig. 2. If they are not pressed in by the action of the selector drum '29, these jacks l 4 have the position at knitting point,.as shown in Fig. 1.

As the lower shank 19 of a needle passes gap 38, if the jack 14 below this needle is not actuated by the selector drum 29, the needle will remain in the position shown in Fig. .1, and the dotted position shown in Fig. 4 being held in place as it passes the gap by the prongs 2t and 2!, which are on either side of the head 25 of jack [4. Such unselected needles and the'associated jacks are under control against radial movement at the knitting point by virtue of their friction with the walls of grooves II; this friction may be enhanced be imparting a slight warp or non-linearity to the needles and jacks before installing them on the cylinder, a customary practice in the art. As the stitch is drawn by this needle, the face yarn will lie on the inside of the hook 15, as shown in Fig. l, and the face yarn will appear in the finished fabric on the outside of the stitch which is drawn by this needle.

But when the lower shank I9 of a needle passes gap 38, if the jack I4 below this needle is actuated by the selector drum 29, the lower portion 26 of the Jack M is pressed in, the jack rocks on the point 28, which moves the head of the jack 25 and the upper portion 24 outward, as shown in Fig. 2. This outward movement of the head 25 between the prongs 20 and 2| moves the lower shank [9 of the needles l3 outward to the position shown in Fig. 2. This causes the needle to rock on point 3! and moves the hook inward to the position shown in Fig. 2 and the full line position shown at the knitting point in Fig. 4. After the needle passes the knitting point, the lower shank is of the needle is pressed inward by the beveled surface 39 in cam 34, which moves the hook of the needle outward to the position shown in Fig. 4 at the right of the knitting point. This moving of the hook of the needle inward to the position shown in Fig. 2 causes the face yarn 35 to be in the outer portion of the hook, and the backing yarn 36 appears in the finished fabric on the outside of the stitch which is drawn by this needle.

When the needles It are used for reverse plating but are not'in the knitting wave, the upper shanks I! of the needles are in a vertical position, being held against the bottom of grooves l l by the spring bands 22. The vertical motion of the needles as the stitch is being shed prevents the accumulation of lint behind the needles.

In those positions of the hose in which there is no reverse plating the cam 34 may be withdrawn from contact with the lower shank IQ of the needles, and when this cam is withdrawn, the upper shank l1 remains in a vertical position when passing through the knitting wave.

By the use of this mechanism, pattern may be made in the knitted fabric. When the selector drum 29 is set to press in one of the jacks I4, the stitch is drawn, as shown in Fig. 2, and the plating is reversed; when the jack is not pressed in by the selector drum, the stitch is drawn, as shown in Fig. 1, and the face yarn is on the face of the fabric. The control of the plating yarn by the relative position of the hooks of the needles is the same as when reverse plating is accomplished by bending the needles as the stitchis drawn. By the use of the means specifled above, the use of needle reverse plating is extended to all gauges of knitted fabrics, and the disadvantages of heating or breaking the needles which is due to bending, are avoided.

As stated above, one of the most effective means of reverse plating is to bend the needles toward the cylinder as the loops on these needles are lceing drawn, and it is the purpose of this invention to obtain with rigid needles the same results that are obtained by bending the needles. In order to do this, the timing of the radial movements of the hooks of the needles with reference to the vertical movement of the needles in drawing and casting their loops is an important feature of this invention, and the proper timing of these movements is necessary to make patterns which contain wide reverse plated figures.

As shown in Figures 4 and 5 of the accompanying drawings, the hooks of all the needles are projected. outwardly in circular alignment with each other at about the time at'which the needles start down on the stitch cam for the drawing of their loops of yarn. This outward movement might occur earlier before the needles reach the stitch cam but an earlier movement is not necessary.

At the lowest part of the downward movement of the needles by the stitch cam, as the needles approach the knitting point 33 and the lower shanks 19 of the needles come opposite the gap 38, as shown in Figure 5, th o'se'ne'edles which have been selected to draw reverse plated loops are tipped so that their hooksare moved inwardly. This inward position of'the hooks of the selected needles is shown by the full line position at point 33 in Figure 4, and a section of this position is shown in Figure 2; The timing of this movement causes the hooksof the selected needles to move inwardly just as the needles are drawing the new 'loops of yarn through the old loops and 'to' move outwardly as soon as the drawing of these loops are completed.

As the hooks of the needles which have been selected for reverse plating approach the point 33 they are moved inwardly consecutively and as each needle is moved inwardly its hook is offset radially from the needle which is just behind it whether this needle behind it has been selected for reverse plating or normal plating. Also the hook of each needlewhich has been moved to an inward position at point 33 is offset radially from the needles in front of it which have passed the beveled surface 39 whether these needles in front of it have been selected for reverse plating or normal plating.

This radial offset of the needles from the needles positioned on either side reverses the relative position of the yarns in their hooks and causes them to draw reverse plated loops. The selective radial movement which produces this offset occurs after the needles have been drawn down by the stitch cam, as shown in Figure 5, and as any number of needles may be selected by the action of levers 28, a reverse plated figure may be made as wide as desired.

I claim:

1. In a circular knitting machine, a knitting cylinder, vertical grooves in said cylinder, independent needles in said grooves, hooks on the upper extremities of said needles, fulcrums for said needles, said needles being mounted in said grooves for rocking about said fulcrums in planes axial to said cylinder, means for rotating said cylinder, means for feeding a plurality of yarns to said hooks in plating relation, means for vertically reciprocating said needles at a given point to draw loops of said yarns to form knitted fabric, means for moving said hooks radially outward before said needles reach such knitting point, and means for rocking selected needles about said fulcrums to move the upper portions and hooks of the selected needles radially inward at such knitting point to change the plating relation of said yarns in the hooks of the selected needles from normal plating to reverse plating.

2. In a circular knitting machine, a knitting cylinder, vertical grooves in said cylinder, independent needles in said grooves, hooks on the upper extremities of said needles, fulcrums for said needles, said needles being mounted in said grooves for rocking about said fulcrums in planes axial to said cylinder, means for rotating said cylinder, means for feeding a plurality of yarns to said hooks in platingr'elation, means for vertically reciprocating said needles at a given point to draw loops of said yarnsto form knitted'fabric, means forrocking selected needles about said fulcrums to 'move the upper portions and hooks of the selected needles radially inward at such knitting point to change the plating relation of said yarns in the hooks of the selected needles from normal plating to reverse plating, and means for rocking the selected needles about said fulcrums to move the hooks'of the selected needles again outwardly immediately after said needles pass such knitting point. I

3. In a circular knitting machine, a knitting cylinder, vertical grooves in said cylinder, independent needles in said grooves, hooks on the upper extremities of said needles, the inner edges of said needles and the cooperating surfaces of theirrespective grooves being so relatively shaped as to allow rocking of said needles in axial planes, means for rotating said cylinder, means for feeding a plurality of yarns to said hooks in plating relation, means for vertically reciprocating said needles at a given point to draw loops 'of said yarns to form knittedfabric, means for pressing inwardly thelower portions of said needles before they' 'reac'h such knitting point "to' .rocksaid needles'and cause said hooks to move outwardly, and means for moving inwardly the upper portions and hooksof selected'nee'dles as-said needles pass suchknitting-point tochange the plating relation of said yarns in the hooks of the selected needles from normal plating to reverse plating.

4. In a circular knitting machine, a knitting cylinder, vertical grooves in said cylinder, independent needles in said grooves, hooks on the upper extremities of said needles, an obtuse angle at the inner edges of each of said needles intermediate the extremities thereof to form a fulcrum point, means for rotating said cylinder, means for feeding a plurality of yarns to said hooks in plating relation, means for vertically reciprocating said needles at a given point to draw loops of said yarns to form knitted fabric, means for pressing inwardly the lower portions of said needles before they reach such knitting point to rock said needles about said fulcrum points and cause said hooks to move outwardly, means for moving inwardly the upper portions and hooks of selected needles as said needles pass such knitting point to change the plating relation of said yarns in the hooks of the selected needles from normal plating to reverse plating.

5. In a circular knitting machine, a knitting cylinder, vertical grooves in said cylinder, independent needles in said grooves, hooks on the upper extremities of said needles, butts on said needles, fulcrum points at the inner edges of said needles opposite said butts, means for rotating said cylinder, means for feeding a plurality of yarns to said hooks in plating relation, means cooperating with said butts for vertically reciprocating said needles at a given point to draw loops of said yarns to form knitted fabric, means for pressing inwardly the lower portions of said needles before they reach such knitting point to rock said needles about said fulcrum points and cause said hooks to move outwardly, means for moving inwardly the upper portions and hooks of selected needles as said needles pass such knitting point to change the plating relation of said yarns in the hooks of the selected needles from normal plating to reverse plating.

6. In a circular knitting machine, a knitting cylinder, vertical grooves in said cylinder, independent needles in said grooves, books on the upper extremities of said needles, fulcrum points attthe inner edges of said needles, .:means for rotating said cylinder, :means :Eor feeding a plurality of yarns to saidhooks in iplating "relation, means for vertically reciprocating said needles at a given point to draw loops of said yarns to form knitted fabric, means for pressing inwardly the lower portions of said needles as they approach such knitting point to rock said needles aboutsaid fulcrum points and cause said hooks to move outwardly, means for moving inwardly the upper portions and hooks of selected needles as said needles pass such knitting point to change the'plating relation of said yarns in the hooks of the selected needles from normal plating to reverse plating, means for pressing inwardly the lower portions of said needles to move said hooks outwardly after said needles pass said knitting point, and means for. pressing inwardly the upper portions of said needles whereby the upper portions of said needles remain in the inward position during the major portion of the rotation of said cylinder.

7. In a circular knitting machine, a knitting cylinder, vertical grooves in said cylinder, independent needles in said grooves, hooks on the upper extremities of said needles, fulcrum points on the inner surfaces of said needles, jacks beneath said needles, fulcrum points on the inner surfaces of said jacks, means on said jacks for engaging said needles, means for rotating said cylinder, means for feeding a plurality of yarns to said hooks in plating relation, means for reciprocating said needles to draw loops of said yarns to form knitted fabric, means for pressing inwardly the lower portions of said needles before they reach such knitting point to cause said hooks to move outwardly, means for pressing inwardly the lower portions of selected ones of said jacks as said jacks pass said knitting point to cause the upper portions of said jacks and the lower portions of said-needles to move outwardly and the upper portions and said hooks of said needles to move inwardly and change the plating relation of said yarns in said hooks from normal plating to reverse plating.

JAMES L. GETAZ.

REFERENCES CITED The, following references are of record in the file of this patent:

- UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,720,649 Lawson et a1. July 9, 1929 1,726,255 Ames Aug. 27, 1929 2,061,473 McAdams Nov. 17, 1936 2,080,525 Ames May 18, 1937 2,243,007 Hoza May 20, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 280,119 GreatBritain Nov. 10, 1927 

